Taking his second chance

When England’s World Cup ended in farce I was one of those people who thought Fabio Capello should leave his job as fast as his little ­Italian legs could carry him.

In all my years of supporting England I don’t think I have ever seen them play with such a lack of anything even vaguely resembling passion. Not even under the ­virtually inanimate Sven-Goran Eriksson.

England supporters are used to the team lacking skill and technical finesse on the pitch. It’s part and parcel of our job. But at least we could always rely on an abundance of passion to help mask these flaws.

This summer, however, that desire went missing in action. Players who normally play like men possessed for their country played like men who couldn’t care less.

The excuses for this were laid on thicker than a Victoria Beckham makeover. My particular favourite being that the players, bless them, were tired after a long, hard season.

(Although maybe that does have a ring of truth about it in Wayne Rooney’s case – got to be hard keeping your energy up on the pitch when you are so busy scoring off it. Here’s a tip for all professional footballers: if a woman is prepared to sell her body for money, she is probably quite willing to sell her story too.)

But whatever the excuses, the reality remains that Capello ultimately had to shoulder the blame. He picked the team, he picked the tactics and it was his job to motivate and prepare them for battle.

It didn’t work, England were humiliated and Capello should have either done the right thing and quit or been relieved of his duties.

Or so I thought.

Today I am starting to wonder if I might have been a little hasty in my condemnation. Maybe the Italian did have a point and maybe it was down to the players.

Because, quite frankly, England’s performances in their past two competitive games have been utterly unrecognisable from those in South Africa. The Jekyll and Hyde of international football.

There were still shaky moments and I am not going to get carried away by victories over two pretty poor teams. But what took me by surprise was the energy and desire shown by the players that was back to its very best.

There could be any number of reasons for this rejuvenation.

It could be, as Capello claimed, that the players are fresh now, whereas they were exhausted in July. It could be down to the enforced absence of some of the old guard such as Frank Lampard and John Terry.

It could be that the tactics have changed, placing more emphasis on wingers and allowing Steven Gerrard to run the middle of the park. It could be, simply, that the team has realised how much they let down their tens of millions of supporters this summer.

The truth is that the turnaround in performances is probably down to a combination of all of the above.

Now it is up to Capello to ensure things don’t go backwards. And to do so, he will need to take some tough decisions. Such as whether Rio Ferdinand, Terry and ­Lampard still deserve a place in the side.

I appreciate that Ferdinand cannot be held responsible for this summer’s debacle. But let’s be honest, how much has he played for England over the past couple of years anyway? Do you really want to build your defence around a player who spends more time ­on his back than a Rooney acquaintance?

Lampard and Terry, on the other hand, were part of the problem in South Africa – if only by virtue that they played in all four games. Terry’s absence last week allowed Phil Jagielka to grow into a seriously good defender, while Lampard’s injury gave Gerrard the space he needed to flourish and, subsequently, meant England’s midfield became a cohesive unit.

And that is where the tough decisions come in. Because I think not one of those three should be part of the team when England take on Montenegro in October.

I’m not saying they shouldn’t be part of the squad. You don’t discard that sort of experience lightly. But they should be made to wait for their chance to get back in the first 11. They need to know they are not automatic selections; maybe that will help them rediscover their passion for the Three Lions and with it, the form we know they are capable of.

To drop any of the players who scored seven while only conceding one – a wonder goal – would send out the wrong signals to players like Adam Johnson and Jagielka. They came in, did well and deserve to keep their place.

What I think has happened over the past two matches is that the golden generation has finally been dismantled. Not through choice: I am fairly sure all those players would have been in the team had they been fit.

This was a decision that was forced up on Capello. But as so often is the case in life, decisions that are forced upon you can surprise you by turning out to be the right ones.

Against Bulgaria and Switzerland, it was no longer a case of trying to adapt the team to fit the star players. It was a case of setting up a team that could function properly and then using only those stars that fitted the roles.

If Capello has the courage to keep it like that, the second chance he has been given may not be in vain. And neither will this summer’s heartache.

A final thought on Capello’s confirmation that he will retire after the European Cup in 2012. Does anyone really think he will walk away from the job if England do the unthinkable and actually win the tournament?

No chance. He will hang around to have another crack at the World Cup and potentially finish his career on a true high.

Somehow, though, I don’t think it will be an issue anyway. And it will be time for Harry Redknapp to take centre stage.

Your say

“I have already expressed my view on your column and how objective you are, but this time I don’t agree with your opinion about Paul Scholes’ refusal to take part in the World Cup.

“It is not ‘a month or possibly two living in five-star luxury, doing a bit of running around in the mornings and playing – at most – seven football matches’. It is much more than that.

“During those minutes you play for your country you need to be at the very best of your abilities and skills, and above all, convert this into goals. But success or failure depends on many other factors, not simply playing well and doing what the manager says.

“I believe high expectations affected the performances of the England team. The media unfortunately played a highly negative role by raising the expectations. Expectations can be debilitating in terms of getting the players to perform to the levels required in a World Cup.

“I guess the players were not just instructed to ‘relax and enjoy it’ as you suggested. I was obvious that there was tension in and around the English camp. Besides, the football season in England is already tough.

“As Alex Ferguson commented to the British media, it’s a real task to ask players to perform at the best level they can achieve after the season in England. You can’t blame Scholes for taking this decision in such a short time. Scholes is not stupid and he was aware of all this even before the tournament started.

“Scholes actually said later on that if he was given more time to decide he would have accepted. On the other hand I only blame Capello for his tactics. He can’t treat his players like a Quickcash card.”

Mario Saliba

sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com